The voters of Uvalde County soundly rejected Texas Democrat gubernatorial candidate Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke Tuesday despite making the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School a central theme of his campaign.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott soundly carried Uvalde County with a margin of victory of nearly 22 points. Abbott received 4,760 of the 7,909 votes reported by the Texas Secretary of State. O’Rourke managed only to receive 3,031 votes.
Following the shooting at Robb Elementary, O’Rourke disrupted a meeting where Governor Abbott and Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin were briefing families on the information known at the time, Breitbart Texas reported.
The Democrat gubernatorial candidate appeared to wait until the governor completed his remarks before he stood in front of the stage to interrupt Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s presentation.
“This was totally preventable,” Beto shouted at the governor. “You’re doing nothing, this is totally predictable.”
Patrick attempts to shut down the Democratic Party candidate for Governor, saying, “Excuse me, you’re out of line and an embarrassment.”
Lt. Governor Patrick also carried Uvalde County by a result of 59 to 38 percent.
Mayor McLaughlin called O’Rourke a “sick son of a bitch” during the meeting as police forcibly removed O’Rourke from the assembly.
O’Rourke used the school shooting and the families in his campaign frequently and claimed Governor Abbott had done nothing for the community in the wake of the shooting that left 19 students and two teachers dead.
Abbott and Patrick both visited the county frequently to listen to the concerns and prepare for actions to help Uvalde heal. In October, Abbott and Patrick, through the Texas Legislative Budget Board, authorized the spending of $400 million to assist school districts across the state in upgrading security measures. In addition, the state authorized $15 million to help build a new elementary school in Uvalde.
“These funds will continue to support the community of Uvalde in the wake of such a devastating tragedy earlier this year and will help bolster the safety of Texans,” Texas Hosue Speaker Dade Phelan explained. “School security will be a priority for the Texas House during the 88th Legislature, and this additional funding is a meaningful step we can take in the meantime.”
Earlier in the year, Governor Abbott provided a $1.25 million grant to the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District.
“As the community of Uvalde continues to heal, Texas continues working to help improve security and aid in the recovery among students and educators,” Abbott said at the time. “This new source of funding will provide critical support to students, staff, and faculty in Uvalde as they continue to process the trauma from that day and grieve for the innocent lives lost.”
In statewide results, Abbott handily defeated O’Rourke by a margin of 55 to 44 percent. This represents the third straight loss for O’Rourke who failed to defeat incumbent Senator Ted Cruz and dropped out early from the 2020 Presidential Primary.
“With each new race he loses it becomes more difficult to convince voters and persuade them that he can still win the next race,” Sharon Navarro, a political scientist at the University of Texas at San Antonio, told the Texas Tribune on Tuesday night. “That’s a very difficult barrier to overcome for a third-time loser.”
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.